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African Union chairman says Putin is willing to "find a solution" to end war, but needs to convince Ukraine

African Union Chairman Azali Assoumani seen during the Second Summit Economic And Humanitarian Forum Russia Africa on July 27, 2023 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

29 July 2023 02:17 (UTC +04:00)

Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to engage in “dialogue and find a solution” to end the war in Ukraine, according to Azali Assoumani, the African Union chairman and president of the Union of Comoros, APA reports citing BBC.

Now the union needs to convince Ukraine to hold negotiations with Russia, he said Friday. Assoumani said the African Union will “act as an intermediary.”

He also said Putin's offer to help Africa with food supply after pulling out of the key Black Sea grain deal is “not quite enough.”

“We need to achieve a ceasefire, because war is always something unpredictable, and the longer it goes on, the more unpredictable it becomes,” he said.

Speaking later Friday at the summit, Putin blamed Ukraine for not being willing to engage in negotiations, saying "the ball is completely in their court." He also criticized Kyiv's efforts to join NATO, calling Ukraine's potential membership in the military alliance a "fundamental threat" to Russian security.

Some background: In mid-June, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and several other African leaders traveled to Ukraine to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and present a 10-step peace initiative that several African countries have agreed to participate in.

At his Russia-Africa summit, Putin has said the Kremlin is “carefully” considering the African leaders’ proposal.

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has ruled out any peace negotiations with Russia until Moscow’s troops withdraw from his country’s territory. Zelensky said allowing any negotiations while another nation's military is occupying Ukraine would only "freeze" the war, pain and suffering caused by Putin's invasion.